Graham visits Anderson, elsewhere in Anderson to speak about health care, other issues

ANDERSON - U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., is making his way through the Upstate speaking about his thoughts regarding medical care and energy and also asking how the government can make improvements in those fields.

Graham visited AnMed Health Medical Center in Anderson on Tuesday and discussed those issues with several trustees, doctors and John Miller, AnMed president.

Graham also visited Greer on Tuesday and talked about health care. He visited the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville on Monday and talked about alternative energy sources.

"Everyone should have access to Medicaid, but there should be consequences for those who take advantage of it and rewards for those who don't," Graham said in his stop in Anderson.

He wants health care to be looked at as more of a business, he said.

Graham said that AnMed is the model that he hopes many hospitals in South Carolina and across the nation will be able to follow.

"Here (Medicare and Medicaid) are more managed, and they give more preventive health care," Graham said. "I want people to get more preventive health care to keep more people out of the hospitals."

Graham faces a challenge from Democrat Bob Conley in the November general election. Conley is a commercial pilot and a flight instructor as well as a licensed professional engineer, according to his campaign Web site.

"Having this job is fun only if you can do good," Graham said at his stop in Anderson. "And I'm not scared to lose it."